While South African cities offer everything from tacos and noodles to sushi and Hawaiian poké, restaurants that celebrate local flavour are a rarity. Chef Bertus Basson makes a powerful case for why this should change at Eike, his newest restaurant
BERTUS
Basson is a busy man. Together with his wife Mareli, he runs an award-winning fine-dining restaurant (Overture), a cult-favourite burger joint (De Vrije Burger), a fast-casual spot with possibly the best views of any such restaurant (The Deck at Overture), another winefarm eatery (Bertus Basson at Spice Route), and a stellar small plates and wine bar (Spek & Bone). He’s hosted multiple television shows, produced a cookbook, with a second in the works, and is also father to a toddler, Theodore, Spek the pig, three dogs and seven chickens. But all this, apparently, is not enough to fill his days. Because, on 1 August, Bertus opened a sixth restaurant: Eike, a stone’s throw from Spek & Bone, on Stellenbosch’s iconic Dorp Street.
Named for the university town’s other moniker, Eikestad, it’s a gorgeous space with a colour scheme that takes its cue from the changing colours of the town’s oak trees; from the rich emerald of summer to the fresh tones of new spring growth. What is it that drives the man, who manages to make each new offering so different from the last?
IT’S A GREY SPRING MORNING WHEN we meet the Bassons in their vegetable garden at home in Jamestown, on the outskirts of Stellenbosch, for a glimpse into Bertus’s vision of Eden. They bought the house here after they married in 2014 and have always had a small veggie patch, but when they noticed a “For Sale” sign on the plot behind it, they jumped at the chance to expand. Now, the space is home to an abundant 400m2 vegetable garden.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2018 من Woolworths TASTE.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2018 من Woolworths TASTE.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Award-winning Food: Trending Plates
Fine-dining takes on both nostalgic and African ingredients - from Cremora and polony (yes!) to okra and beetroot - were food trends singled out by the judges of the 2022 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards.
Everything you need to know about quinoa
If it was good enough to sustain the Incan armies - and NASA's astronauts - you'd better believe this protein-rich seed will see you through your afternoon slump.
PIGS IN BLANKETS
The kids will love these quick-and-easy snacks that won't break the (piggy) bank.
82 words on...
THE FROZEN APEROL SPRITZ is the hottest way to keep cool this summer, says Jeanne Calitz.
MEET ME AT THE RIVER
Plan a visit to the new Mukwa River Lodge on the banks of the Zambezi to experience Zambian food with a twist, courtesy of head cook Aaron Menezes and four passionate members of his kitchen team.
FIRE STARTER
Celeb TV chef Clem Pedro - of Afternoon Express and Expresso fame takes the art of hosting to pro level and not because he went to hotel school or worked for TASTE, but because he started in his mom's kitchen. We asked him to share his food nerd roots and family braai secrets.
PLANTS IN PARADISE
Former Durban creative (and one-time carnivore) Neil Roake and his daughter Jordan's epic travels led them to collaborate on the all veg cookbook Castaway. They shared their meat-free adventures on the Filipino island of Siargao with TASTE.
ΤΟ MAY-ΤΟ, ΤΟ MAH-ΤΟ
Midsummer tomatoes are impossible to resist, we know. So when you find yourself with a bounty of exotic varieties - heirlooms, Italian Romas, ripe Mediterraneans and sweet Rosalinis - Hannah Lewry is here to help.
HOME TRUTHS
At her Joburg eatery, established in the iconic former Women's Jail at Constitution Hill, Mpho Phalane has worked to create a space that both honours the historic site and feels like home. She spoke to Khanya Mzongwana about the food journey that brought her here.
Morogo magic
Budget-friendly indigenous leafy greens - fresh, sautéed or preserved for later use are on Mokgadi Itsweng's menu at this time of year.
